The order for expulsion was based on the Indophobic social
climate of Uganda. The Ugandan government claimed that the Indians
were hoarding wealth and goods to the detriment of indigenous
Africans, "sabotaging" the Ugandan economy.[2]

Contents

Historical
background

Former British colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa have many
citizens of South Asian descent. They were brought
there by the British Empire from British India to do clerical work in
Imperial service. In academic discourse, racism directed against
these people from their host countries fall under the rubric of Indophobia.[3]
The most prominent example of this is the ethnic
cleansing of the Indian (sometimes simply called "Asian")
minority in Uganda by the dictator Idi Amin.[3]

According to H. H. Patel, many Indians in East Africa and Uganda
were in the sartorial and banking businesses, where they were kept
forcibly by the British colonialists. Since the representation of
Indians in these occupations was high, stereotyping of
Indians in Uganda as tailors or bankers was common. Also, some
Indians perceived themselves as coming from a more advanced culture
than Uganda, a view not appreciated by Ugandans. Indophobia in
Uganda thus predated Amin, and also existed under Milton Obote. The
1968 Committee on "Africanization in Commerce and Industry" in
Uganda made far-reaching Indophobic proposals. A system of work
permits and trade licenses was introduced in 1969 to restrict the
role of Indians in economic and professional activities. Indians
were segregated and discriminated against in all walks of life.[3]
These developments led many Indians to support Idi Amin's coup.

Discrimination and ethnic
cleansing

After Amin came to power, he exploited these divisions to spread
propaganda against Indians involving stereotyping and scapegoating the Indian minority. Indians
were stereotyped as "only traders" and "inbred" to their
profession. Indians were attacked as "dukawallas" (an occupational
term that degenerated into an anti-Indian slur during Amin's time).
Indians were stereotyped as "greedy, conniving", without any racial
identity or loyalty but "always cheating, conspiring and plotting"
to subvert Uganda. Amin used this propaganda to justify a campaign
of "de-Indianization", eventually resulting in the expulsion and
ethnic cleansing of Uganda's Indian minority.[3]

Their expulsion resulted in a significant decline in Uganda's
Asian Hindu and Muslim population. Many Asians
owned big businesses in Uganda and many Indians were born in the
country, their ancestors having come from India to Uganda when the
country was still a British colony. Those who remained were
deported from the cities to the countryside, although most Asians
were granted asylum in the United Kingdom. A plurality of the
Asians with British passports, around 30,000,
emigrated to Britain.[4]
Other countries receiving 1,000 or more of the emigrants include
India, Canada, Kenya, Pakistan, West Germany, Malawi, and the United States.[4]
Many emigrants also found their way, in smaller numbers, to Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden, and Mauritius.[4]

In Britain, the Ugandan Asians were offered temporary
accommodation in converted RAFbarracks. Most left as soon as possible to
find their own homes or to share space with friends or family.

Ugandan soldiers during this period engaged in theft and
violence against the Asians with impunity. After their expulsion,
the businesses were handed over to Amin's supporters.